Improvement in tempering and purifying air and ventilating structures



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. J'. WILKINSON. Tampering and Purifying Air and Ventilating Structures.

Patented July 29-, 1879.

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JOHN WILKINSON, OF HARVARD, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENTlN TEMPERING AND PURIFYING AIR AND VENTILATING STRUCTURES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 218,101, dated July 29,1879; application filed April '7, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN WILKINSON, of the "illage of Harvard, McHenrycounty, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements for Tempering and Purifying Air and for VentilatingStructures of any dimensions or capacity and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a clear, full, and exact description thereof, whichwill enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the reference-letters marked thereon, which form a partof this specifica tion.

One part of this invention relates to an improved method for supplyingbuildings with air of a uniform temperature.

Between the thirty-eighth and forty-fourth degrees of north latitude thetemperature of the earth at a depth of from twelve to fourteen feet isuniformly about 50 Fahrenheit throughout the year, and if air from abovethe surface be transmitted through the earth at that depth it willacquire this temperature. The distance from the surface at which thisuniformity begins varies with the latitude of each locality. I havefound by experiment that in central Mississippi the distance is fromfifteen to twenty feet from the surface. If, at the depth of uniformtemperature, aductbe formed through the earth, cominunicatin g at oneend with the outside air, and at the other with an apartment orbuilding, the air will be drawn into the duct, and, after acquiring thetemperature of the surrounding earth, it will be transmitted with saidtemperature from the duct to the apartment or building.

I have shown how these facts, broadly considered, may be made availablefor purposes of ventilation in Letters Patent No. 159,055, granted to mebut in the construction thereby patented 'I employed two ducts, oneinclined upward and the other downward relatively to the building to beventilated, in which case gravitation is depended on to produce acirculation in one direction or the other, according as the outside airis of a higher or lower temperature thanxhe earth; but in theconstruction hereinafter set forth I employ but a single duct, which maybe horizontal, orsomewhatinclined upwardly or downwardly, and with whichI combine devices adapted to exhaust the air from the building thatcommunicates with the duct. These exhausting devices consist of a shaftor chimney communicating with the apartment to be ventilated, andappliances adapted to expel the air from said shaft or 'chimney. Thisshaft or chimney may be located in the apartment to be ventilated, or,when connecting-fines are employed, it may be placed in a contiguousapartment, or even one quite remote. When it is placed in anotherapartment the exhaust lines, which connect the ventilated rooms and thechimney, should be as spacious, close, and direct as possible, andshould discharge into the chimney, or into a room that I call thestove-room, which incloses the chimney. The air in this room, which isin direct communication with the exhaust-chimney, should be entirelyinsulated from air in neighboring apartments and from the outside air,and upon this thorough insulation depends the excellence of theventilation.

In order to thoroughly insulate a building or apartment I construct itso that it shall be surrounded with spacious and perfectly closechambers of confined air, which are constructed as follows: I place asheathing of concrete felt within and without the frame of the buildingor apartment under the siding and under or back of the lath andplastering, when the latter are used. This substance I have found to bea poor conductor of heat, practically water-proof, and air-tight underordinary circumstances, and, moreover, very cheap. This insulated roomopens into, or is in direct communication with, a chimney, which isprovided with a stove to heat and expel the air. The air passes into theinsulated exhaust-room from the apartments to be ventilated throughconnecting-ducts. As the air is being exhausted by the devices describedit is replaced by air which is caused to enter the building or apartmentthrough a subterranean duct, located on a line below solar influence.

The supply-duct is constructed by first digging a trench of the lengthand depth required for the duct, then building on the bottom an archwith brick, tiles, or other suitable materials, and afterward fillingthe trench with earth.

At the outer end the duct communicates with a shaft, through which theairenters from above the surface, and at the inner end it communicatesby suitable pipes with the various apartments to be ventilated. Thisduct should be sufficiently long to temper the air that is transmittedto the required degree; and in order to have perfect control of thetemperature of the air, I provide the supply-duct with severalingress-shafts at different distances from the building to beventilated, which may be closed or opened interchangeably, and thus theair may be submitted to a longer or shorter tempering action by theearth.

The duct should be of sufficient inner diameter to permit the passage ofa man when it is necessary to clean or repair it.

Another part of this invention relates to an improved method ofsupplying a building or apartment with anhydrated air, and devices forregulating the amount of moisture which the air may bring into suchcompartment. It consists in providing the building to be supplied withair with an underground supplyduct, through which the air istransmitted, and which is so constructed that the walls condense themoisture carried by the air.

For many purposes it is desirable, and even necessary, that the airsupplied to an apartment should have all the lnoistnre removed from it,as in apartments used for drying and similar purposes; but on the otherhand it is necessary sometimes that the air supplied should retain somemoisture, and also that there should he means of controlling andregulating the amount of moisture in the air that enters an apartment.This latter I attain by providing the supply-duct with severalingressshafts unequally distant from the exit, whereby the air can besubjected to the auhydrating action a longer or shorter time at will.

The duct is constructed as hereinbet'ore described; and in order topermit the escape of the condensed moisture, I form in the bottom of themain trench a small supplementary one, and fill it with a hard granularsubstance, preferably gravel, adapted to receive and remove the water.

Another part of this invention relates to an improved method ofdisinfecting the air which is supplied to an apartment, and freeing itfrom deleterious gases and other noxious matter. To this end it consistsin constructing the sub-earth supply-duct so that its walls shallconsist as much as possible of thenatural earth, and in constructingwithin the duct a series of peculiar shelves or supports, adapted tohold a large amount of natural soil, and bring it in contact with theair that is transmitted.

The natural earth, by being in direct contact with the air, not onlygreatly assists in tempering the air, but also exerts a decidedantiseptic and disinfecting influence, and, in

connection with the moisture that is condensed upon it, removes allgerms, motes, pollen, dust, and ozone, which latter, as is now wellknown, plays a large part in the acidifying and fermenting of milk andother perishable matters. The soil which I have found most suitable forthese purposes is clay; and if the soil through which the trench is dugis not sufiiciently aluminous, I artificially surface the bottom, thewalls, and shelves with clay, though any of the well-known deodorizing,disinfecting, and antiseptic earths may be used for the purpose.

Figure 1 is a horizontal section of a building to which are applied themeans of carrying out my improved method of ventilation. Fig. 2 is avertical section on line ax of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section online y y, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section of the trenchon line z z of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a modification of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is alongitudinal section of the trench shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 illustratesdevices for applying my system of ventilation to the treatment of milk.Fig. 8 is a vertical section of a one-story building. Fig. 9 is ahorizontal section of the insulatingwalls. Fig. 10 is a horizontalsection through the duct and one of the series of shelves.

In the drawings, A represents the supplyduct. It is formed by makingaditch, a, of suitable size and depth, and constructing therein an archor support, B, capable of withstanding the superincumbentweight ofearth. This arch or support may be constructed of stones, tiles, orflags, though I prefer to use bricks. \Vhen bricks are used they areplaced as is shown in Figs. 3 and 4.that is, in such manner as toprevent the earth from falling in, and yet at the same time allow asmuch as possible of the surface of the soil to be exposed through thewall. This is accomplished by laying the bricks so that their adjacentends are not in contact, but are as far apart as can be permittedwithout weakening the wall, thus forming large interstices throughoutthe duct. When flags or tiles are used they are placed in two lines,their lower ends resting in the corners of the trench and their oppositeends placed together, forming in crosssection substantially an invertedV, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The flags are placed in the respectivelines, so as to leave wide spaces or interstices between them, for thepurposes above mentioned.

The ditch above the walls or arch is filled up as the duct is formed.(See a.) The length of the duct and the depth at which it is placed mustbe determined by the conditions of its localitytwo hundred feet long,more or less, and fourteen feet deep, more or less.

The bottom of the ditch serves as the bottom ofthe duct, it consistingtherefore of earth.

If the soil through which the duct is laid is not sufficiently aluminousor clayey, I place a layer of clay or other suitable absorbent on thebottom and in the interstices of the wall. I attach to the side walls ofthe duct lines of shelves at a, preferably made of corrugated sheetmetal, supported upon removable props b b. Upon these shelves I place alayer of clay or other suitable absorbing material, and thus secure anadditional disinfecting and deodorizin g surface.

The shelves are arranged in various planes so that they cause the air topursue a circuitous or zigzag course as it passes through the duct, andthus tend to bring a greater number of the particles of the air incontact with the earth.

The air is supplied to the duct by means of a vertical shaft, A sunk toor somewhat below the bottom of the duct. For some purposes it may bedesirable to extend the shaft above the surface.

When these devices are used to ventilate hospitals or other similarstructures, or are used in a malarious region, the ingress-shaft issupplied with means for purifying the air to a greater degree than canbe attained by the action of the earth in the duct.

The air, as it passes down the shaft, is subjected to the action ofcarbolic acid or other disinfectant by causing the acid to fall throughthe air in a mist or spray, as shown at a It is collected in a vessel orcistern, ad, in the bottom of the shaft, and returned by pumping orotherwise to the top, where a suitable reservoir, A is placed forholding and supplying it, Fig. 3; or it may be forced upward from thebottom of the shaft in one or more jets, and when so operated thereshould be a screen or other device adapted to form a spray or mistplaced at a proper point to be impinged upon by the jets. Thedisinfecting liquid may be used in the duct itself, and be operated bydevices substantially similar to those described. A covering or roof, A,is placed over the mouth of the shaft.

B, Fig. 1, represents a supplemental ingress-shaft, similar in structureand operation to shaft A, but located nearer the building to beventilated. It communicates with the supply duct either directly or by asupplemental duct, 11 The ingress-shafts are supplied with valves,covers, dampers, or other means of closing them to the passage of theair.

It will be seen that when the shaft B is open and shaftA closed,the airthat passes through duct A will be subjected to the influence of theduct less than when it enters by shaft A and hence that by means ofseveral in gress-shafts the temperature and humidity of the air suppliedcan be regulated at will.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 7 ,OD represent chambers or apartments thatare to be ventilated.

In order to thoroughly insulate these apartments, I construct theirwalls substantially as follows: 0 represents an inner wall, and c anouter Wall,between which are formed air-chambers 0 0 These chambers aremade spacious and perfectly tight, and are inclosed by nonconductingmaterials, the degree of the insulation depending upon these matters.

I have found that the walls ordinarily used for insulating areinsufficient, in that they are conductors of heat and are not imperviousto air.

Referring to Fig. 9, the frame of an apartment or building isrepresented by the uprights or studding L L L.

M is a sheet of concrete felt, one side of which is placed against theinside of the stud L. The next sheet, M of felt, is placed so as tooverlap the sheet M, and a sheet of elastic felt, m, is inserted betweenthe sheets M and M. A batten, N, is then secured by means of nails ndriven through the batten and the felt into the stud L. A similarsheathing of felt is formed on the outsideof the studs L, as shown, at MM m N.

If lath and plastering are used, they are secured upon the inside of thesheathing, as shown at 0. Outside of the outer sheathing, M M is placedthe weather-boardin g or other siding.

The air is exhausted from these apartments through pipes d d, which, inthe constructions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, pass under the floor and openinto an exhaust-room or stove-room, E. The walls of this exhaust-roomare constructed in a manner similar to that for the apartmentsdescribed, so that it shall be perfectly insulated, not only from theair outside, but also from the air of the contiguous apartments, and thethorough insulation of this room and the exhaust-shaft, thatcommunicates with it, is one of the essential requisites of my system ofventilation.

F represents the chimney or exhaust-shaft, which is shown to be built upfrom and to open into the exhaust-room E, which latter extends upward tothe highest point practicable, preferably to the top of the shaft, (seeFig. 8,) so that the shaft shall be insulated as fully as possible.

A stove, G, is placed in the room E, at or near the bottom of chimney F,to heat the air in the chimney and expel it therefrom.

The air thus expelled from the chimney is replaced by air fromstove-room E, which in turn is replaced by the air from rooms 0 and D,drawn through the pipes d d.

The air which is withdrawn from these apartments is replaced by airsupplied by the subterranean air-duct A through feed-pipe H, thesupply-duct extending under the apartments or the building that containsthem.

I have shown these parts in the positions relative to each other inwhich I prefer to place them-that is, the subterranean duct Asubstantially horizontal, the stove-room E within the building to beventilated, the exhaust-shaft F extending to the bottom of the lowestapartment, and the exhaust-pipes d d situated beneath the floors; but itwill be seen thatif the shaft F, room E, and apartments 0 andD areperfectly insulated in the manner described, the circulation of air willbe obtained when the parts are in different positions from thoseshown-that, is the ductAmay be inclined up ward or downward, thestove-room E and shaft F may be located in a contiguous apartment orbuilding or one quite remote, on a level with or above or below theapartment to be ventilated, and the pipes d d may pass above, around, orthrough intervening apartments.

In Figs. 1 and 2, I represents a closet or store-room. The duct isturned as shown at A to convey air to the closet I, whence it isexhausted, as from the other apartments, by a pipe, d

The doorways i i are provided with double doors, to prevent changes oftemperature when one is passing through them.

It is well known that there accumulate in the spaces between the surfaceof the earth and the ground-floors of buildings much mold, deleteriousgas, and decay. By the means of ventilating which I have described I amenabled to keep in these spaces a body of fresh, pure air.

H, Figs. 1 and 7, is a branch pipe, communicating with the feed-pipe Hand with the space beneath the floor 0 H Fig. 8, is an exhaust-pipe,leading from said space to the stove-room E, or the shaft F, and bythese means a constant. supply of fresh air may be passed beneath thefloors from the duct A to the heated shaft.

In dairies, and buildings for similar purposes, waste-conduits arenecessary to carry away the refuse fluids, which generally containgrease, coagulated milk, &c., and in these waste-pipes it has beencustomary to have traps to prevent the escape of gases and odors; but Ihave found these traps very objectionable, and I am able to carry offsaid gases and odors by my improved means of ventilating.

K, Fig. 7, represents a pipe communicating with the waste-pipe K, andentering beneath the floor to the exhaust-room, (or, preferably, to aconsiderable height up the exhaust-shaft,) where all objectionable airand odors are discharged.

In applying my means of ventilation to milk-rooms and dairies, wheremilk is placed for preserving and separating the cream, I deliver theair from the sub-earth duct at or near the floor, and generally directlyunder each vessel containing the milk, as shown in Fig. 7.

If the vessels S are large, I provide them with central flues, 8,through which the air can pass, which secures uniform cooling of themilk.

I prefer to place the milk-vessels in an insulated chest, and connectthe chest with the air-duct. P represents the insulated chest,constructed with double walls p p and intervening air-chambers p. P is aslotted floor, upon which the milk-vessels are placed, permittin g afree circulation of air under, around, and over them. The air isexhausted through a flue, P and is supplied by the pipe H, communicatingwith the sub-earth duct A.

In order to prevent the cooling of the milk at the bottom of the vessel,I provide it with a non-conducting protector, R, which is so placed asto prevent the withdrawal of the heat from that part of the milk whichis contiguous to it. This may be made of any nonconducting material,though I prefer to use a pad of the felt of wool.

Instead of the stove G, any desired or wellknown air-exhausting devicesmay be used to expel the air from the shaft F.

What I claim is-- 1. A sub-earth air-duct for supplying air to anapartment, constructed substantially as described, with walls partly orentirely consisting of earth.

2. A sub-earth air-duct constructed with walls having open spaces orinterstices, substantially as set forth.

3. A sub-earth air-duct having two or more in gresses, substantially asset forth.

4. A sub-earth air-duet provided with walls of absorbing-earth,substantially as set forth.

5. In combination with an apartment, an insulated exhaust-shaft and asub-earth airduct, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a room or building to be ventilated and anexhaust-shaft, of an insulated apartment communicating with the shaftand with the apartment, substantially as set forth.

7. As a means for insulating an apartment or building, the combination,with the inner wall and the outer wall, of sheets of felt M M M M, andthe elastic strips in m between the overlapping sheets, the wholearranged to form tight chambers 0 0 substantially as set forth.

8. In a sub-earth air-duct, the combination of the shelves a a,supported at the one side upon the wall of thednct, and at the other bythe props b b, adapted to support layers of earth in the path of the aircurrents, substantially as set forth.

9. The exhaustion of gases from sewer and waste pipes by means of theheated exhaustshaft, for the reasons and in the manner specified andillustrated.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have affixed my signature inthe presence of two witnesses.

JOHN WILKINSON.

Witnesses:

M. M. TowNE, ARCHIIBALD DAVIDSON.

